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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, September 5, 2003

'Dickie Roberts': Formulaic, but not without charm

By Margaret A. McGurk
The Cincinnati Enquirer

DICKIE ROBERTS: FORMER CHILD STAR (PG-13; crude and sex-related humor, language, drug references) 2 stars (Fair)

David Spade plays a down-on-his-luck celebrity who hires a family to help him regain his fame. The comedy is not bad, but squishy emotional business falls flat. With Rob Reiner, Mary McCormack, Craig Bierko. Directed by Sam Weisman. Paramount Pictures. 99 minutes.

You can tell "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" comes from the Adam Sandler movie camp, because there is a brutal beating within the first 10 minutes.

Dishing out the punishment is Emmanuel Lewis, a genuine former child star. His punching bag is Dickie Roberts (David Spade) the fictional title character, once a beloved TV tyke, now reduced to humiliations like "Celebrity Boxing."

Dickie yearns to be a star again and latches on to the notion of landing a part in a Rob Reiner movie, even though he hasn't a clue what the script means.

When Reiner (playing himself) tells Dickie "You're not a real person," the ex-star gets the idea that he can achieve normality by hiring a family to supplant the memories of his wildly dysfunctional childhood.

Yes, indeed, that's a silly, silly plot. But "plot" — as in "story" or "narrative" or "logical progression of events" — isn't really the point to this particular crew of moviemakers.

Director Sam Weisman turns out flimsy, amiable fare such as "D2: The Mighty Ducks." Spade and writing partner Fred Wolf scripted the instantly forgettable "Joe Dirt" and "Dirty Work," as well as "Black Sheep" and "Tommy Boy," Spade's movies with the late Chris Farley. And, of course, we have Sandler producing.

What these guys know how to do is string together set-ups for the star of the moment to deliver the one-liners, bits, gags and schtick made him famous in the first place.

For Spade, that means reptilian snarkiness and self-deprecation. It's a weird but wise blend; he's arrogant, he's bitter, he's cruel — and smart enough to laugh at his own misguided egoism. He also knows how to turn his slight frame and vague seediness to comic effect. For instance, when he finds his hired brother Sam (Scott Terra) is being picked on by bullies, Dickie is barely tall enough to look the thugs in the eye, but sends them yelping with ballistic insults.

Spade is good at that kind of thing. He's good in general playing an angry, clueless, self-absorbed nut case. But his gifts don't extend to the squishy, sentimental emotion that the part also requires.

He gets no help at showing his human side through such clunky dialogue as, "People loved me when I was a star. When people love you, it feels good inside."

Supporting cast Mary McCormack and Craig Bierko as Dickie's hired parents, Jon Lovitz as his agent and Alyssa Milano as his no-good girlfriend make a commendable effort.

A brace a real-life former child stars (Leif Garrett, Danny Bonaduce, Dustin Diamond, Gary Coleman, Corey Feldman, et al.) decorate the landscape. They also figure in the movie's most winning moment, when at the closing credits a chorus of one-time TV stars sing a rousing, violent anthem about never escaping their preteen labels.

It's an affectionate gesture. Despite its flaws as a work of cinema, "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" shows that, at least when it comes to middle-aged ex-celebrities, it does indeed have a heart.